2003 Framingham murder: Murray guilty of manslaughter

Friday

Jun 27, 2014 at 12:01 AMJun 27, 2014 at 10:16 AM

By Norman Miller

Daily News StaffWOBURN - A former Framingham man who shot and killed Joseph McDaniel on Kendall Street in 2003 could be released as early as today after a Middlesex Superior Court jury on Thursday convicted him of manslaughter, rather than a verdict of first-degree murder, which prosecutors had sought.After about eight and a half hours of deliberations, the jury of eight women and four men found Eric Murray, 37, guilty of voluntary manslaughter and illegal possession of a firearm.The verdict brought an almost immediate smile to Murray's face. He had originally been convicted of first-degree murder in 2005, but that verdict was overturned in 2010 by Judge Sandra Hamlin. She ruled that evidence that McDaniel was a member of the KST gang which came to light in a federal indictment in 2007 could have been used in his defense at his 2005 trial.Murray's lawyer, Timothy Bradl, spent more than two weeks questioning witnesses about the KST and trying to convince the jury that Murray shot and killed McDaniel out of his fear of McDaniel and the KST, also known as the Kendall Street Thugs and the Kendall Street Team.He said the jurors' verdict showed that they agreed Murray had a right to defend himself. Bradl, though, said he believes Murray should have been found not guilty of any charges."The jury found that he had the right to self-defense, but that he used excessive force in self-defense," Bradl said after the verdict. "I'm not quite sure what level of force would be acceptable in these circumstances when he is confronted by the likes of the KST. They don't strike me as the kind of people that would be satisfied with a simple fistfight."After the verdict, McDaniel's mother, Darlene McDaniel, was distraught."Not good," she said outside of the courtroom, while crying. "He should have gotten higher."Bradl said Murray was ecstatic about the verdict."After having been convicted of first-degree murder, Mr. Murray is absolutely thrilled with the jury's verdict," he said. "He recognizes the gravity of the situation and didn't go looking for this."Hamlin scheduled Murray's sentencing for today. The maximum sentence he faces for voluntary manslaughter is 20 years. He also faces up to five years in prison for the gun charge.Murray has already served nearly 11 years in custody. He has been held since his arrest on Oct. 8, 2003, the day after he met McDaniel on Kendall Street, shooting him three times. Prosecutor Nicole Allain told the jury that the shooting was a murder, planned by Murray. She said he went there to confront the 19-year-old McDaniel and shot him in cold blood.There is no minimum sentence for manslaughter and Bradl said he plans on asking Hamlin to sentence Murray to the time he has already served. Bradl said he expects Allain to request the maximum sentence.Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For trial updates, follow Norman Miller on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW, #murraytrial.